


When You Hurt One Of Us

by alisayamin (sh_04e)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Dark, Fluff, Humor, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Magic and Science, Platonic Relationships, Protective Paladins, Quidditch, Sheith Secret Santa 2017, Snogging, Soulmates, Team as Family, aside from sheith of course, courtesy of the holts and hunk, no seriously, sheith being sweet af, skele-gro sucks, the paladins dont deal well when one of them gets hurt, this fic deals with some of the darker aspects of magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 19:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13278747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh_04e/pseuds/alisayamin
Summary: There was a group of children at Hogwarts that never really fit in their houses. When these children bonded, they knew where they finally belonged, with each other.They were very protective of their small family. Very. Protective.(This is my sheith secret santa gift for lucia-ik@tumblr!! Featuring Shiro who can't get his hands off Keith. As well as protective matt + garrison trio)





	When You Hurt One Of Us

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ: I've never read the Harry Potter series, only its fanfictions lol so I'M VERY VERY SORRY IF ITS NOT ACCURATE and I changed the school years a little. My version of Hogwarts enrolls students from age 11-20 because in my verse, they're not encouraged to leave the school until they come into their magic which is roughly when a wizard is around 17-20 years old. 
> 
> O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's are taken at the same age as usual. Students who have taken their N.E.W.T's and have come into their magic can graduate or they can stay the extra 2-3 years at Hogwarts that will help fully prepare them for the working universe. In this story:
> 
> Ravenclaw - Lance (16 - halfblood), Matt (18 - muggleborn)  
> Hufflepuff - Hunk (16 - pureblood)  
> Gryffindor - Shiro (18 - unknown), Allura (18 - pureblood)  
> Slytherin - Pidge (15 - muggleborn), Keith (17 - unknown)
> 
> All aliens in VLD are just a different type of magical creature in this fic. Again, this story is not ALL-FLUFF. Read at your own risk!! Lucia, this is for you~ I hope you like it!

 

Lance peeked his head out of the corner, “Okay, coast is clear.”

“Y’know Lance, maybe tonight we shouldn’t head to the kitchen?” Hunk suggested with his shoulders hunched and his forefingers touching in small rapid movements.

“Pfft what are you talking about? We’re almost there.”

True enough, just one more turn into an empty corridor and they were standing in front of the infamous painting of fruits. Lance tickled the pear and heard it giggle before a knob magically appeared in a shimmer of gold dust. He turned it with a smile and opened the door to the kitchens.

“Lance-“

The Ravenclaw glanced back at his Hufflepuff friend, “Hunk, c’mon.” He took one step into the kitchen still muttering under his breath, “What’s gotten in to you toda- OH MY GOD"

The kitchen didn’t have any elves at the moment since no meals were necessary so late into the night and they were too busy cleaning up the castle probably. Pidge was sitting at their usual wooden table in the middle of the deserted kitchen, legs crossed as she leaned her chin on right hand. Her latest crossover tech (combining muggle technology with magic) was left idly on the table as the Slytherin smiled at the very thing Lance was gaping at.

Shiro was ravishing Keith's lips but that wasn't the (only) reason Lance was so shocked. It was more because of the position those two were in. 

Keith’s back was pinned against the solid wall, thighs being impossibly pressed against his chest as Shiro hoisted him up with just his bare hands on Keith’s supple butt cheeks, supporting all of Keith’s weight. Keith’s black dragonhide pants left nothing to the imagination as his knees were bent over Shiro’s shoulders, ankles crossed and urging Shiro closer.

There was something aesthetically pleasing about the pretzel knot position Keith was in but Lance would rather ask Allura to the Yule ball before he even dared to admit that to Keith. Still, he wondered how flexible Keith really was since he wasn’t completely human.

Shiro, the supposed golden boy of Gryffindor and head prefect, didn’t even pause kissing his boyfriend breathless when they both heard Lance’s exclamation. And to be honest, if Shiro did stop, Keith’s fingers that were lost in Shiro’s hair would probably pull him right back in.

When the noises started to get a little obscene and Shiro’s fingers couldn’t help but _squeeze_ those cheeks in his hands, Lance called it off.

“Okay that’s enough. KEITH, unpretzel yourself right now! SHIRO, you were supposed to be patrolling with Matt!”

Shiro bit Keith’s bottom lip one more time when Keith started leaning his head back to part their kiss. They shared a loving stare, admiring the other’s disheveled appearance. Shiro’s hair was a mess from Keith’s grabby fingers and Keith’s neck was adorned with various marks. Both their lips were red and plump from a very satisfying snogging session. Just as an afterthought, Shiro leaned into his boyfriend’s neck and began slowly kissing each mark he made. Watching from over Shiro's shoulder, Keith wanted to laugh at the look on Lance’s face.  He could tell the Ravenclaw was going to explode soon. Before Lance could physically pull them apart, Keith started stretching his legs out and did a semi split to untangle his limbs from Shiro’s shoulders.   

When Keith was on the ground again, Shiro wrapped his arms loosely around Keith’s hips and kissed him chastely on the lips before they were both _staring_ at each other again _, smiling_.

Lance groaned out loud at their inability to part from each other and the wave of magic that was constantly present whenever Keith and Shiro were in the same room. He deadpanned at Hunk and Pidge’s adoring expressions, “You guys knew they would be like this didn’t you?”

Hunk shrugged, “I tried warning you. My cousin couldn’t stop for at least a month after she found hers.”

Pidge just sighed happily, “It’s their honeymoon phase~”

“It’s not a phase if they’re never gonna get out of it.” Lance grumbled. He sighed as he looked at his two friends. He was happy for them, really he was but they were getting ridiculous with the love-struck staring.

It took a little over 10 minutes before Lance was finally able to usher Shiro out of the kitchen. Hunk started making use of the elf-less kitchen to make some late night snacks while Lance urged Keith to do some poses with him to test his flexibility.

“I’ve honestly never seen anyone do that before.” Lance referred to what Keith just did with Shiro. Lance took off his robe and draped it over one of the chairs at the table, leaving his skinny pants and plain prussian blue shirt on, “Let’s see how flexible you really are. No one can match me back at home.” Lance smirked with crossed arms.

Taking it as a challenge (like they do with everything), Keith agreed and took his own robes off. Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith’s neck and decided to cast a quick spell, changing Keith’s emerald shirt to an emerald turtleneck instead to cover the marks.

Keith deadpanned, “Really?”

“Really.” Lance theatrically gestured to Pidge, “KEITH, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!”

Lance was zapped with a wordless and wandless spell by said ‘child’ for that comment. Soon, they were both on the mats that Lance help transfigured from two plates. He started with some stretches to loosen himself.

Starting with an easy pose, Lance asked, “Did you even warm up before you decided to pretzel?”

“Yeah.” Keith answered distractedly as he copied Lance’s split stretch, “Shiro helped-“

Lance pushed a forefinger to Keith’s lips, “Never ever tell me what it is that you and Shiro do.”

Pausing from continuing her project, Pidge grimaced from where she sat at the table, “I get sore just looking at you two do all that.”

Currently, both Lance and Keith were supported by their chins and shoulders as their body bent forward till the tip of their toes touched the mat, right in front of their faces. Keith had a relaxed expression on his face. He usually _was_ after being with Shiro. Lance was both intrigued and a bit put out that Keith could match him and was basically as flexible as he was.

“Remind me again why you’re here tonight?” Pidge said out loud as she continued tinkering with two small devices, “I thought our match tomorrow would make you hang out with the lions instead.”

“Actually…” Lance easily untangled himself and sat up straight, “I want Gryffindor to lose. They’ve had the quidditch cup for too long.”

At hearing that, Pidge smirked, “Why Lance! I didn’t know you were such a cunning eagle! Are you actually suggesting of assisting us serpents against the battle with the lions?"

Hunk suddenly showed up with a tray of… some kind of food, “Why am I not included in all this?”

“You don’t play quidditch, Hunk.”

“Neither do you!” he frowned at Pidge and set the tray down on the table just as Lance helped Keith to stand up.

Pidge was still smirking, saying, “Yeah but Keith does.” As though that answered everything. In a way it did because Pidge didn’t like losing so she would find ways to make her quidditch team win. Unfortunately, against Gryffindor with a keeper like Shiro, a chaser like Allura, along with formidable beaters, not even Slytherin’s prodigy seeker could best them. Despite Keith catching the golden snitch in every single game ever played, it was never good enough to win them the cup.

"Well I have a few plans", Lance sat down in front of Pidge and took out a parchment and quill from his robe that was still draped on the chair he was sitting on, “Okay, listen up…”

When Lance was done, Keith nodded, “It’s perfect.”

Lance’s head whipped so hard, it even surprised Keith, “Wait, really?”

Keith frowned and gestured at the parchment Lance had written his strategic play on like it was obvious, “Duh.” He pointed to one of the Slytherin chasers Lance had drawn and started explaining why Lance’s plan would work. Enthusiastic that someone like Keith actually liked his plan, the two of them started exchanging more and more ideas.

Meanwhile, Pidge was studying Lance. His plan was practically fullproof. Why didn’t he become the strategist for his own team? At the moment, Lance was only a reserve chaser for Ravenclaw. Before Pidge could ask, she felt Hunk nudge her side. She turned to see Hunk slowly shake his head. Pidge crossed her arms. She knew a little about Lance being ostracized for not being the right kind of Ravenclaw but how could anyone deny his plans? Heck, Pidge knew even Allura consulted him and that’s how they had been winning since three years ago.  

Pidge sat back in her chair and took a good look around her. Lost children, that’s what they were. Didn’t really fit in anywhere. Hunk was a Hufflepuff that was almost too Ravenclaw with all his vast knowledge for both potions and magical theory. Lance was a Ravenclaw that wasn’t book smart but street smart instead with the courage of a Gryffindor. Herself, a Slytherin attitude with a very Ravenclaw brain. And then Keith, a Slytherin that wasn’t liked by anyone from his own house despite his contributions in both quidditch and studies. She would say Keith was a Gryffindor if she didn’t know any better but despite Keith’s reckless bravery, he was as loyal as a Hufflepuff, as sharp-witted as a Ravenclaw and with a deep-sated understanding of self-preservation only a Slytherin could have. Keith’s decisions sometimes made him seem heartless when in fact his ideas were the most practical and logical ones. Arguments with Keith usually led him to drive others away.

However, watching Keith and Lance banter lightly about other possible plays with Hunk on the side trying to cool them down made Pidge smile. She was glad they had each other. The misfit always fits with other misfits. They weren’t like Allura, Matt and Shiro who basically embodied their houses. Still, she was thankful for them. Matt who always supported them, often discussing animatedly about possibly new spells and potions with Hunk and helping Pidge with her latest projects, Allura who admired Lance’s brilliant mind and never took him for granted, and Shiro… Shiro who was always coaxing Keith out, always teaching him new moves on the broomstick, always teasing him and caring for him more than an older sibling, more than a friend. Despite all the shit that their houses sometime put them through, Pidge was glad they were all together.

 

* * *

 

Everyone had a different magical signature. It fully matured when a wizard was fully harmonized with their magic. Since children and adolescents were still volatile in regards to their emotion, their magic would not fully mature until the age ranging from 17 to 20 years old.

Keith, unlike most children, did not have the liberty or the freedom of a normal childhood. As an orphan under the care of the Blade of Marmora, Keith had matured much earlier and was able to fully control his magic at only the age of 12. However, before that age, Keith’s magic was too volatile to be enrolled into Hogwarts with the other first year 11-year-old children, thus the Marmora and the headmaster agreed that they would wait for Keith’s magic to fully settle before he was allowed to learn magic at the institute. Keith was the only one to begin his first year at Hogwarts at the age of 12.

Shiro, like many others, came fully into his magic at 18. The day that he did, he felt an itch under his skin. He ignored it and went through his normal routine. At breakfast, he joined the little group sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table. Despite the tables being assigned by houses, not many of the students followed unless it was the grand dinner at the start or at the end of the school year. Any other time, they would sit wherever with whomever they wanted to. The staff didn’t seem to mind and there were no rules for seating placements at the Grand Hall.

It was a day like any other but for Keith and Shiro himself, it was the day they _found_ each other. Shiro had sat in front of Keith that day, not noticing Keith’s wide eyes when he felt Shiro’s magic. Reaching out, Keith’s magic curiously touched Shiro’s and then they both felt their magic pulsing happily, twirling around each other.

Shiro and Keith stared at each other in a different light. It was Keith who spoke first. There was just a soft trace of laughter in his voice as he said, “It’s you..”

There was a foreign fondness in Keith’s voice when he said those words, making all their friends turn to look at them in surprise. As a Slytherin, Keith was often quiet unless prompted to speak. That didn’t count the snide remarks and petty fights he often had with Lance though. Still, even Pidge, Keith’s first friend and housemate, had never heard nor seen Keith exhibit such a soft voice and expression.

Shiro reached his hand over the table and entwined his fingers with Keith’s. His fingers squeezed and massaged Keith’s hand intermittently with gentle circular motions, both of them slowly smiling and just…letting their magic do the work. Allura was the first to gasp when she noticed their magical aura combining. She was the only one with such a gift in the past 5 generations of her family and what a gift it was, to witness Keith and Shiro’s aura wrapping around each other until they formed a new colour completely.

Pidge and Lance had stared at the entwined hands before they both shouted, “NO WAY” and just like that, the whole group was celebrating for their two friends.

The magical combination of compatible auras were in some way, similar to what the muggles often coined as ‘soulmates’. 

At age 18, Shiro knew exactly who he would be spending the rest of his life with.

 

* * *

 

Shiro took his place as keeper and kept a vigilant lookout for the Slytherins throwing around the quaffle.

“Come here often, _sir_?” he heard a teasing voice from somewhere above him.

Shiro was already smiling before his eyes tracked down the opposing player in green. Keith was just lounging on his broomstick somewhere above the goal rings, that pretentious brat. Honestly, if Keith wasn’t such a good seeker, Shiro would have said that insult out loud.

“Shouldn’t you be patrolling for that little snitch?” Shiro teased back.

Keith rolled his eyes, “Does it matter if I go look for it now rather than later when it actually shows up?”

No it didn’t. In fact, rumours were that Keith was almost in tuned with the golden snitch. Matt and Pidge were the ones who offered the theory that Keith could actually hear the frequency of the golden snitch’s tiny wings due to his partial galra heritage and the only thing that would stop Keith from catching the small thing was if they were forced to wear noise-cancelling headphones during quidditch, which was never.

 ** _“AND THERE THEY GO!”_** Coran’s booming voice resounded throughout the pitch. Truly, there couldn’t be any other that suited as the commentator.

_**“Swift pass from red number 7 ther-! OH! STOLEN BY GREEN 19!!!”** _

Shiro braced himself as the Slytherin players approached. He was used to stopping their throws but at the final stretch before the ‘scoring area’ where only one chaser was allowed, the two Slytherin players initiated a very effective feint move involving a short throw-and-catch play, fooling Shiro easily before they scored the first goal of the game.

The crowds reacted in a mixture of awe, cheers, and disappointed grumbling.

The game continued with a change of momentum from all other previous Gryffindor-Slytherin matches. The Slytherin beaters seemed to know exactly when and where to time their hits, aiming the bludgers swiftly to the Gryffindor chasers who were about to catch the quaffle.

 ** _“Watch out for those bludgers!”_ ** Coran warned just as Allura herself had to back out from catching the quaffle in order to avoid a powerful hit from the bludger.

The quaffle was yet again stolen by the Slytherin chasers and despite experiencing the feint before, Shiro fell for it again, letting Slytherin gain 10 more points.

He could hear Keith’s muffled laughter from above him. There was something going on. A new play- Shiro looked up to Keith again and he knew what that mocking smile meant. They had the game all figured out.

After the next consecutive _five_ goals, Keith called out, “Can’t keep up, old man?”

Shiro gripped his broomstick so hard he thought he could hear the wood start to crack. That brat was _infuriating_. Shiro adored him.

Too bad for the Slytherins that Shiro was quick to adapt after seeing the play again and again. They next feint was countered with Shiro’s own feint, effectively allowing him to block the quaffle from being thrown into one of the hoops.

Even Coran cheered for the Gryffindor keeper who finally managed to overcome Slytherin’s newest play.

Shiro smiled up at Keith, “What was that you said? Old man?”

Keith simply smiled back, posture stiff and threatening, “Just you wait.”

With Shiro’s save lifting everyone's morale, Gryffindor finally had the strength to initiate a counterattack.

 

* * *

 

Pidge adjusted her glasses from where she was sitting at the Ravenclaw tower stand. Since Matt and Lance were the majority (in term of house), Pidge and Hunk decided to join them instead of choosing to sit at other houses. Besides, the Ravenclaws were pretty much neutral since not many of them cared much for quidditch matches not involving their team, except Lance.

Whom by the way, was grumbling because of course Shiro could overcome his play after just 7 goals.

Matt just shrugged, “It’s Shiro. He practically raised all of you in quidditch. Can’t blame him for being able to overcome that. But it really was a good play. I’ve seen other teams try to perfect that but they never could because of the scoring area rule.”

“Thanks.” Lance smiled sincerely, “That’s the thing though. Number 19 and 20 from Slytherin, they.. Keith said they followed the rule book to a T. Obsessively. So I figured, if anyone could pull a feint before that line, it’d be those two. ‘Cuz they’d rather lose the game before breaking the rules.”

Hunk was happily looking through Matt’s self-made binoculars, “I think Keith just challenged Shiro or something. They got that weird ‘I’m-gonna-bring-you-down’ look they always make during practice.”

Pidge snorted, “Of course they would. After all…” She smirked up in Keith’s direction, “This isn’t over yet.”

Matt leaned towards his sister, “Careful Pidge, your Slytherin is showing~”

 

* * *

 

Gryffindor managed to score three times before something changed again. Keith mounted his broom properly before flying in front of Shiro to give him a mock two-finger salute, “Try to keep up, old man.”

Shiro was not at all expecting Keith to suddenly kick into overdrive as he dove straight into the game. At first, it seemed as though he was just flying in swift circles around the players. Keith moved so fast, Shiro saw him only as a green object. It looked as though Keith was chasing the golden snitch amidst the players. But even the Gryffindor seeker was looking incredulously at Keith, so that meant that the snitch was still not spotted yet. Again, Keith’s flying seemed harmless to Shiro. Except… it wasn’t.

 _ **“OH IT SLIPPED AGAIN!”**_ Coran shouted with a little exasperation, **_“Perhaps the quaffle is a little slippery…”_ ** he muttered as an afterthought.

Shiro watched closer and then realization dawned on him. He only noticed after hearing Coran’s comment. Allura always caught the quaffle perfectly during practice but ever since Keith started circulating the pitch, Allura and the other two chasers failed to properly secure the quaffle in their hold, three out of five times losing it to the Slytherin chasers.

Finally, Shiro understood.

It was just a subtle thing that Keith was doing but it worked. _Merlin,_ it was genius. Shiro let out a chuckle. He hadn’t ever seen this kind of play before, only heard of it.

Misdirection was a funny thing.  And Keith, the swiftest flyer Hogwarts had ever seen in the past 50 years was definitely capable of initiating this play. He was fast enough to distract the chasers for a split second and was skillful enough to navigate, pause, break and turn his broom at will.

Heck that little green brat even affected Shiro at the goal post. All it took was a distraction close enough in Shiro’s eyesight and suddenly, he was fooled by the feint he had just learned to overcome earlier. When Slytherin scored again, Shiro could hear Keith’s laughter. And he couldn’t help but laugh along. Even though Shiro had never lost to Slytherin before, he felt as though he wouldn’t mind losing this game. The play was too good.

When he caught Keith’s attention, Shiro smiled in defeat while shaking his head slowly. And Keith, the mature brat that he was, gave Shiro his cheekiest grin.

 

* * *

 

Lance and Hunk were the only ones standing in the tower stand as they cheered for Keith. It was old news that their group rarely supported the housing system, just each other. Lance got a glare from Allura when she heard Lance cheering for her current enemy.

“Whoops.” Lance grimaced before he shouted in Allura’s direction, “YOU’RE STILL THE ONLY ONE FOR ME, ALLURA!” and then he added as a whisper, “…even if you lose this game, haha.”

Pidge was smiling at her fellow housemates. They didn’t even practice this play. It was just explained earlier in the changing room and yet they were pulling it off as though they’d been practicing it for months. Even _she_ couldn’t escape from cheering for them every time they scored. She was surprised Matt wasn’t laughing at Shiro or something.

When she turned to her brother, she noticed him scowling.

“Matt? What’s wrong?”

“Katie…” he started without looking away from where he was scowling, “Remember those lions that I told you about? The ones who accused Keith of manipulating Shiro’s magic to bond with Keith's?”

Pidge started frowning. Those prats were the worst kind of people. Prejudiced and so insistent on taking the house traits seriously. They never liked Shiro befriending Keith or herself but it got worse when they found out Shiro and Keith’s magic had officially bonded.

“’Course I do. Why?”

Matt finally looked at his sister, all seriousness in his eyes, “They just left their stand. And they’ve been glaring at Keith throughout the whole game.”  

 

* * *

 

Keith loved flying. He never enjoyed quidditch much. Most of his love for the sport was an extension of Shiro’s own feelings. The game was so strange to Keith but who was he to judge that? Still, flying was Keith’s favourite pastime and only hobby. He almost hugged Kolivan when the Marmora presented him his first own broomstick. It meant a lot when Keith knew that the Marmora themselves weren’t big on ‘gifts’. He was able to train with Shiro much better after that. The school broomsticks didn’t move quite as smoothly as the latest ones that had a more aerodynamic design.

As Keith once more distracted Shiro from blocking the goal hoops, he heard the familiar fluttering of the golden snitch. He couldn’t see it yet but it was definitely released already. Keith smirked. As long as the Gryffindor seeker didn’t spot it yet, they could prolong the game for as long as it was necessary to keep the quidditch cup out of Gryffindor hands. If Keith could just… get them more than 300 points ahead, it should be enough. Besides, if they could repeat the current strategy against the other houses, they were a shoo-in to win the cup.

He kept distracting the chasers and Shiro all the while keeping an eye on the Gryffindor seeker. After Slytherin scored 3 more times and Gryffindor scored once, the red seeker finally spotted the golden snitch.

With an easy-looking maneuver, Keith swiftly flew towards that annoying fluttering sound. It would only be about a 250-point lead but that was better than what they originally expected. Without Lance's play, Gryffindor would have won whether or not Keith caught the snitch. He was so gonna get those stupid (yet really expensive) ingredients Lance always wanted to create the perfect face mask or whatever it was that he used before bed time. It was a tradition he learned from the muggle world. Keith never knew why some wizards hated the muggles. Those people built buildings with their bare hands (indirectly but still using their hands nonetheless to create those…. ‘machines’ Pidge called them) and created weapons to fight _for_ them. Muggles were impressive.

Getting his head back in the game, Keith had already outflown the Gryffindor seeker and he could finally see the fluttering golden snitch.

Keith reached his hand out. He could feel the cool golden metal despite his thick gloves as his fingers wrapped around the snitch.

“Gotcha” he whispered to himself.

All of a sudden, Keith’s outstretched arm exploded in sharp pain. Keith let out a hoarse scream as he felt himself swerve to the left from the massive impact. He was disoriented from the pain for a few seconds before he managed to balance his broom again.

His right arm was broken and was resting at a very odd angle.

Keith gritted his teeth. Then, the shouting started. Keith looked up to see more than a dozen bludgers moving all over the pitch. The students were screaming as some bludgers went through the tower stands and others were trying futilely to stop the rogue bludgers with ‘finite incantatem’ spells. The beaters from both teams were shouting for their teammates to dismount as they deflected what they could with their bats.

But four beaters couldn’t honestly battle more than 12 rogue bludgers.

Despite the pain in his arm, Keith flew. He was their fastest flyer, he had to help. Before three bludgers could hit Allura, Keith swiftly tackled her and practically pushed her with her broom towards one of the exits.

“KEITH!”   

“GET OUT OF HERE!”

Allura’s eyes were wide with fear when she saw his arm, “Y-Your arm-“

“ARGH!” a loud cry from the pitch broke off Allura’s sentence.

Keith’s head snapped at that sound. He knew that voice.

Turning away from Allura, Keith quickly flew towards Shiro. One of the bludgers had hit Shiro’s broom, breaking it into two.

On any other occasion, Keith would have enjoyed the exhilarating wind against his face. But at that moment, all he wanted was to go fast enough to catch Shiro.

“SHIRO!!”

Keith didn’t even care that one of his arm was broken. He reached out his uninjured arm and-… “GOTCHA!” Keith gripped Shiro’s arm and let them descend towards the ground.

Shiro’s momentum from falling off his own broom pulled them quickly towards the pitch but it was at a speed that they would survive from. Around 10 of the rogue bludgers were finally tamed by the professors by then. Unfortunately, Keith was not so lucky.

Just a few feet more from reaching the ground, Shiro saw it coming from his left. In that split second, he could tell by the speed they were moving that it would hit Keith. He could only look up at his bondmate, pure fear in his eyes when he shouted, “KEITH LOOK OUT!”

It hit Keith on the side. And in that short amount of time, Keith knew to let Shiro go so that he wouldn’t be dragged along for the ride. Shiro fell the last few feet and landed on his back with the wind knocked out of his breath. But he couldn’t care less about the trauma as he immediately sat up to look for Keith.

The hit from the bludger made Keith lose control of his broom, causing him to land roughly onto the pitch, breaking his broomstick and other parts of his body as well. It wasn’t just his arm in a weird angle this time.

The final bludger was tamed. The teachers were running towards the pitch. Pidge, Lance, Hunk and Matt were running down the stairs of the tower stand. And Shiro was running towards Keith. At first, there was no sound. And Shiro felt dread fill him. But he could still feel their bond. Keith was still alive. Shiro begged that Keith was just unconscious. That’s why he was so quiet.

But suddenly, Keith screamed.

It was a long cry of strangled pain, over and over again.  

It was a sound that Shiro would never forget.

 

* * *

 

It was a few hours before they could finally see Keith and Shiro at the hospital wing. Shiro was admitted overnight as a precaution for the trauma from his fall. And Keith was admitted, obviously, for his multiple injuries, not limited to broken bones and crushed organs.

“Hey guys.” Pidge was the first to approach the only occupied beds, Lance and Hunk close behind her.

Shiro was out of his bed, opting to sit on the chair beside Keith’s bed instead. His hand was tenderly gentling Keith’s uninjured left hand.

“Hey.” Keith croaked weakly at his housemate.  

Pidge quickly jumped to sit on Keith’s other side, carefully avoiding his arm. She smiled softly at Keith, “You look like shit dude.”

Keith snorted.

He did look like shit. His whole torso, right arm, pelvic region and left leg were completely wrapped in bandages. They had to save his crushed organs first from the second bludger hit. That took more than two hours. The rest of the time was used to setting his bones again before administering the skele-gro potion to allow the bones to reconnect properly.

Lance and Hunk hovered at the foot of Keith’s bed. Hunk raised a small pouch and dangled it, “Made your fav cookies! Shay helped pack’em. This pouch is much bigger on the inside than on the outside, fyi. And I made around 5 batches. Coated them all individually with that white chocolate Klaizap sent to you, it was on your bed I hope you don’t mind. Of course, I had to melt them first before I could coat the cookies and then leave them on the drying tray, I mean, THAT was how long we had to wait to see you.”

Keith gave a weak laugh. Only Hunk would stress-bake 200 cookies for him and nervously rant about it, “Thanks Hunk..”

Lance hid his sadness at seeing Keith sprawled on the hospital bed by pretending everything was fine, “Dude. You were awesome. If it wasn’t because you were practically fighting against your own quidditch mentor here-“ he gestured his head towards Shiro, “-you would have _easily_ scored that 300 lead.”

Shiro shook his head slowly with that same smile he gave Keith after the misdirection play, “That was the best play I’ve ever seen.” He turned to Lance, “Allura’s gonna be pissed you didn’t share it with her instead.”

Keith croaked out with a soft sneer, “Heh. Good luck with that.. Only someone as fast as me can run that play.”

Lance raised his hands exasperatedly, “Obviously he’s fine enough to compliment himself, ladies and gentlemen.”

They all laughed at that, all of them ignoring that rogue bludgers almost killed their friend. Ignoring that Keith could have died. Ignoring that they had all heard Keith’s pure unadulterated screams on that pitch. Ignorance was bliss. They could share this small moment, just making Keith smile.

After a few minutes, they all heard a woman clear her throat.  

Lance was the one who pouted at the matron, “Just 5 more minutes please~? I promise we’ll go to dinner in just fiiiiiivvveee more minutes!”

The matron did not look happy at Lance, Pidge and Hunk. In the end, Shiro was the one who encouraged them to go get some dinner before everything vanished.

“Fine.” Pidge grumbled, “But we’re coming back tomorrow.”

Shiro chuckled, “We won’t stop you.”

Keith inclined his head towards his friends, “..see you guys tomorrow.”

“Bye mullet head.” Lance gave a small wave.

Hunk placed the pouch of cookies on Keith’s bedside, “Goodnight Keith.”

Pidge didn’t say anything from where she sat beside Keith. Instead, she just gently caressed the back of her fingers against his cheek. All she could think was that those people had hurt what was theirs. Pidge knew that none of them ‘belonged’ to their houses because their houses didn’t fully accept them, so alternately they belonged to each other. And those people had hurt _their_ Keith. Then her eyes met Shiro’s in a silent reverent stare.

Shiro nodded and said, “Have fun.”

The matron quickly ushered the trio after that. She locked the hospital wing to avoid any more visitors. She approached Keith’s bed and gave Shiro a disapproving glare, “I would urge all patients to sleep on their own beds, Shirogane.”

“My magic helps him heal, madam.”

And it did. Their magic had bonded. Physical touch between bonded wizards helped to heal injuries by distributing their magical core.

The matron’s expression soften when Shiro reminded her of their bond, “Yes yes… That would help greatly. Nasty little thing that skele-gro potion.. They still haven’t made a pain reliever to go with it.”

“Thank you, madam.”

Excusing herself for the night, she left to stay in her office. It would be another 5 hours before Keith could take a pain reliever potion. Once her door closed, Shiro cast a muffliato charm surrounding Keith’s bed.

“It’s okay Keith…” He spoke softly, “It’s okay to let go now.”

Keith’s eyelids fluttered as he did as he was told. The coast was finally clear.

It started with little twitches in Keith’s left hand and feet. The tension of keeping his body locked up slowly eased. His breath quickened, matching the rapid rise and deflation of his chest. The twitches turned to full spasms followed by a wet sob. That was when the tears started flowing and the dam was broken.

Shiro watched as Keith dropped all his masks and cried out all the agonizing pain he was truly suffering. And all Shiro could do was return the grip Keith had on his hand.

“..it…” Keith hiccupped through an intense sob, “…hurts.. Taka-…shi…”

“I know.” Shiro cupped Keith’s face, locking their eyes together, “I need you to hold on, Keith. I’m right here, okay?”

Keith nodded, and weakly pulled Shiro’s hand. Shiro got the message before laughing, “This is not how I planned to get in your bed, Keith.”

In midst the endless tears and sobs, Keith let out a wet laugh, “Shut up-…and get in here..”

"Bossy." But Shiro complied, making sure to avoid all of Keith’s injuries. He was somehow able to join Keith on the bed by sacrificing his arm as a pillow (the actual pillow used as a cushion for Keith’s side). Keith still held onto Shiro’s hand, taking deep breaths throughout the torment of his injuries. All the while, Shiro kissed his head, wiped his tears away and whispered comfort in his ear.

Their magic entwined and wrapped them both in a cocoon. Miraculously, even without a pain reliever potion, Keith eventually fell asleep in Shiro’s arms.

 

* * *

 

Pidge, Lance and Hunk never went to get dinner. They never planned to. There was too much anger thrumming under their skin. The moment they turned to the first corridor outside the hospital wing, they saw Matt and Kolivan talking. When the three of them approached, Matt and Kolivan turned towards them.

Kolivan looked into their eyes one by one. Whatever he was looking for, he found it. The leader of the Blade of Marmora inclined his head towards them, his own version of a tacit approval, before making a quiet exit out of the castle. He was present during Keith’s surgery that was conducted both by a blade healer and a healer from St Mungos. Keith’s mixture of anatomy was luckily not an issue with both of them present. The discrimination that Kolivan knew Keith suffered made him believe that the perpetrators would escape unscathed. But then Matt spoke to him and proved his words when Kolivan saw Pidge, Lance and Hunk. He saw a similar look in Shiro’s eyes earlier as well. If it wasn’t for Keith needing Shiro’s presence, Kolivan was certain Shiro would have dealt with ‘them’ on his own.

Once the Marmora leader was out of sight, Matt turned to his two friends and younger sister, “We have 6 hours. Allura, Shay, Luxia and Olia are dealing with our alibis. Nyma and Rolo are standing guard right now outside the… classroom.” Matt smirked, “Shiro’s joining us after he can finally give Keith a pain reliever potion.”

Lance tilted his head with a bored expression but his eyes reflected how eager he was to meet the people that dared to hurt his friends, “What are we still doing here then?”

Hunk lifted his hand as though to ask a question, “Um.. I have these potion recipes that my parents never allowed me to make because they said it had…questionable effects on its drinkers.”

There was an awkward pause of stunned silence where everyone just stared at the Hufflepuff before Hunk continued, “I… also know the antidote recipes..? So its not like.. y’know. A forever thing. I just wanna know what happens.”

Pidge huffed a small laugh, smiling at her brother, “I guess they’re lucky Shiro only gets an hour with them, huh?”

 “You have _no_ idea.” Matt shook his head slowly, still looking at Hunk with a bewildered expression, "But 5 hours with you guys should be interesting."

 

* * *

 

Keith stirred and started feeling the pain all over his body again. The white hot pain was coming back and he didn't want it anymore. He whimpered and shook his head. He didn’t want to wake up. He couldn’t- Not again, not again, please, pleas-

“Shhh Keith, it’s okay.” Shiro whispered softly, quieting his pleas. Keith didn’t even realize he was saying it out loud until Shiro spoke over him.

Keith heard a distant “I got it, Madam.” before he felt the bed dip beside his head and then Shiro was there pressing their lips together. Keith made a questioning noise but otherwise didn’t complain. He especially _did not_ complain when he tasted the familiar liquid Shiro was forcing down his throat from their kiss. He could feel himself slowly floating on a cloud, the pain ebbing away into a dull ache that was barely noticeable.

His mind was finally calm and he could breathe easily again. Keith opened his eyes properly only to be greeted by Shiro’s blinding smile, “Better?”

Shiro had braced himself rather ingeniously, hovering the way he was over Keith’s recovering body without crushing him. Since Keith was able to think clearly, he contemplated silently before deciding to swat his boyfriend’s arm, “You just wanted to do that ‘medicine kiss’ with me didn’t you?”

Truthfully, Shiro could have just helped Keith sit up to drink the potion. It’s not like Keith’s spine was injured or anything. Keith glared at Shiro until the Gryffindor gave him a sheepish look and that was answer enough. A few weeks ago, sometime after their magic bonded, they had watched a ‘movie’ Lance had brought to Hogwarts and Pidge and Matt managed to build their own device that mixed a little muggle technology and few simple spells to display all the contents of the ‘CD’. The movie wasn’t that interesting but Keith remembered how obsessed Shiro was with the ‘intimate healing trope’ Hunk called it. Shiro was specifically interested in the ‘mouth-to-mouth medicine dosing’.

Keith chuckled when Shiro started pouting slightly. Keith wrapped his uninjured left hand around Shiro’s neck and pulled him down till their noses touched, “Kiss me properly already, old man.”

“Brat.” Shiro teased fondly before complying with the much needed kiss. What they didn't say in words, they expressed with the urgency to be intimate. Keith breathed in their magic, so saturated around them after a whole night of sharing their magical core. Keith could feel traces of Shiro's fear of losing him but he felt Shiro's relief the most. They didn’t even hear the matron clearing her throat rather loudly. Unfortunately, their snogging session was short-lived when the pain reliever fully kicked in and Keith started slipping back into sleep.

Shiro parted their kiss and stroked Keith’s cheek gently, “Sleep, Keith.” he whispered quietly.

And Keith did.

 

* * *

 

A crack resounded in the previously abandoned classroom.

Matt turned to Shiro, surprised to see that his friend had apparated so easily. Shiro just shook his head at Matt’s questioning eyebrow lift, “That wasn’t me. Klaizap brought me here. Said I’d run into the headmaster if he didn’t take me here directly.”

“Of course that little guy would know where we are.” Then Matt let out an exaggerated relieved sigh, “PHEW! For a second there, I thought you learned to overcome the anti-apparition charm and anti-disapparition jinx before _I_ did!”

“I’ll leave that to you and Pidge, thank you.” They both laughed before Shiro’s friendly demeanor suddenly took a sharp turn as he remembered how much his bondmate had suffered during and after the bludger incident. He was sure Pidge, Lance and Hunk were still having fun but their time was up. Shiro had a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes when he asked Matt slowly, “My turn now to play with them, isn't it?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I always believe there's this line that people would cross when you push them to their limit, directly or indirectly. And when you mix that with magic, damn. Imagine the possibilities... I know I made it like it was off-screen torture or something but IMAGINE, the paladins are hardly dumb, and they have magic, imagine the amount of times you can hurt and heal, hurt and heal, make them forget, CHANGE them. I like how some hp ff emphasized on the greyness of magic, light and dark. Not all light-affiliated wizards are good and not all dark-affiliated wizards are bad. This fic isn't really about this distinction but more on what magic could actually do and how it would affect morality.
> 
> The paladins and the accomplices (the girls I mentioned in passing) are exacting revenge because they CAN. If someone did what those teens did to one of your own, hurting them as much as Keith was hurt, and you had the ability to return the gesture without a trace and without leaving permanent damage, would you?
> 
> Anyway, I really enjoyed writing that, it's been awhile since I wrote something like this... I hope you guys liked it. 
> 
> FYI: Motive of those boys that transfigured the rogue bludgers was that they wanted to personally take Keith down because they saw how effective the plays were. Even if Gryffindor could beat other teams, it wouldn't matter if Slytherin still managed to get the highest amount of points and win the cup. So really, they just wanted to get Keith injured enough to sit out the rest of the season BUT these boys have never played quidditch, they DO NOT understand the volatility of a bludger and before they could charm it to Keith's magical signature only, those bludgers went out of control and TADA!


End file.
